THW Kiel will start the new Bundesliga handball season next Sunday as the reigning German champions. After the first title of the new season is up against the cup winner Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the Supercup on Wednesday evening from 7:00 p.m., HBL returnees HBW Balingen-Weilstetten will be waiting for the Zebras at the weekend. Head coach Filip Jicha gave the big goal for the season for his colors in advance.
Normally, the German record champions always start the Bundesliga season as the big favorite for the title. This has been the norm for many years, with the Zebras living up to this role as favorites a whopping 15 times since the 2000s alone.
But everything is different this year: After several high-profile departures – Niklas Landin (Aalborg Handbold), Sander Sagosen (Kolstad Handball) and Miha Zarabec (Wisla Plock) – THW Kiel is only the third force in the betting shops behind arch-rival SG Flensburg -Handewitt and Champions League winner SC Magdeburg traded.
An unusual outsider role, with which head coach Filip Jicha has obviously already made friends: “I even think it’s a good thing. We’re happy to teach the experts better. […] The competition has upgraded, I have a lot of respect for them. Nevertheless, I only look at my team. Our goal is to qualify for the Champions League,” said the 41-year-old in an interview with “Sport Bild” about the Zebras’ primary goal for the season.
Jicha wants to be in the Final Four with THW Kiel
Jicha himself is already in his fifth season as head coach at the Förde. To date, he has won the championship three times with THW as a coach, having previously done so seven times as a player.
The Czech no longer wants to allow cross-comparisons with football, in which THW Kiel was often dubbed the “FC Bayern of handball”, this year: “The competitive situation at the top is different in handball than in football. There are six Teams that can easily become champions,” Jicha said.
The former world handball player formulated the goals for the upcoming Champions League season a little more ambitiously: “Our dream is the Final Four in Cologne. We want to be there.” THW Kiel has won the premier class four times, most recently in 2020.